ASCI partners with Future Brands for a study on gender narratives in advertising

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has partnered with Future brands to launch an exhaustive and immersive study into various gender narratives proliferating in Indian advertising and come up with insights for brands and agencies to move towards more responsible advertising.

Titled GenderNext, the study is expected to be released in September. It will be backed in terms of insights and funding from brands such as Nobel Hygiene, ITC-Vivel, Kellogg, Colgate, Diageo, Eureka Forbes and Mondelez.

Subhash Kamath, Chairman, ASCI, says, the study will focus on unravelling gender narratives in advertising, in line with cultural shifts in society and then come up with “actionable insights” to help advertisers and ad agencies to focus on “progressive, culturally-relevant and aspirational gender portrayal” in their ads.

Manisha Kapoor, Secretary General of ASCI, adds, a multi-enquiry framework will be adopted for this comprehensive study. There will be a semiotics and cultural decode of Indian advertising over time, across categories and regions. In addition, we will seek opinions of various stakeholders such as advertisers, ad agencies, creators, policymakers and gender experts. We expect GenderNext to be a seminal reference study on the depiction of gender in advertising.”

Ad clinics will also be conducted across 10 centres with consumers for their views and feedback on gender depiction in advertising. The study will focus on portrayal of women in ads in multiple categories such as personal care, beauty and fashion, gadgets, automobiles, financial institutions and education, etc.

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